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Here is a nice comparison from Automobile where they take four of the hottest German performance cars out right now under $64000 (base price) to find which one is the best. The cars are the 2013 Audi RS5, Mercedes C63 AMG coupe, BMW M3, and the new Porsche Boxster S. The Boxster really being a roadster so it doesn't not fit in cleanly into the comparison but if someone is cross shopping based on price it certainly fits in.

Automobile puts the C63 AMG in last place. They hated the transmission, understandable with the automatic. They also didn't like its heft. Its track manners were the least desirable. They did like the motor which who doesn't? It was the fastest car out of the group.

The Audi RS5 comes in third. It also has the highest base price of the group. They said the 4.2 liter with 450 horsepower and an 8500 RPM redline is arguably the best powerplant in this test which is rather hard to believe when the M156 V8 in the C63 and the S65 V8 in the M3 are involved. The RS5 was also called the least impressive on the track. In other words, compared to the others, it's boring. Understeer all day and the brakes had trouble with the heft. Hard to believe it had the fastest lap time of the bunch then. Yes, it really did.

The M3 finishes in second place or really first of the cars in its class. Automobile states its age is starting to show as it should but the M3 clearly is aging quite well especially considering Audi is bringing a brand new car to the table and Mercedes recently released the C63 coupe. It's also considerably lighter and better balanced than either the Audi or Mercedes, age isn't changing that. The 111 mph trap speed puts it 1 MPH ahead of the brand new RS5 although the C63 was tested much quicker than either. It only beat the C63 by a tenth around the track though either way the M3 is said to be more desirable due to how much fun it is to drive and its great balance.

This brings us to the first place car, the Porsche Boxster S. Obviously, the Boxster wins because it is the most fun to drive. As it should be being mid-engined and offering the lightest curb weight by over 400 pounds in this group. The acceleration numbers even with the PDK transmission are incredibly slow compared to numbers others have hit. 13.3@106 in the 1/4 mile? Something sounds really off. Regardless, they call the Boxster driving bliss and that is why it wins although it is incredibly surprising the RS5 beat it around the roadcourse.

Full results and video below. Oh, and Automobile titling this comparison as a $64,000 comparison makes little sense when one actually looks like the as tested prices. Especially with the Boxster over $90k.

Because they are dual clutches and not automatics. And any magazine that calls dual clutches automatics can not be taken seriously.

im so sick to death of this debate, the gears are shifted automatically or not, all these dct cars you can get it, put it in drive, and never touch a shifter till you get where your going. thats AUTOMATIC

im so sick to death of this debate, the gears are shifted automatically or not, all these dct cars you can get it, put it in drive, and never touch a shifter till you get where your going. thats AUTOMATIC

I'm sick of people who are too stupid to understand the difference.It isn't an automatic as an automatic has a torque converter. You don't go to the line, put a foot on the brake, one on the gas, and then go. It has no torque converter, it doesn't work that way. When the term is used it refers to the technical aspects of the gear box.I guess if you put in manual mode and have to touch the shifter it becomes a manual then suddenly by your definition. It isn't a debate, it's a fact. A dual clutch isn't an automatic get it through your head.

30 freakin thousand in options?! WTF? Porsche is really trying to get every last dollar for their cars. So if you tested the base Boxster it would probably blow in this competition...the Cayman S would have been a better match being a hardtop two door.

30 freakin thousand in options?! WTF? Porsche is really trying to get every last dollar for their cars. So if you tested the base Boxster it would probably blow in this competition...the Cayman S would have been a better match being a hardtop two door.

Porsche gives you a ton of options, it's a great thing. You don't have to get them all. You can get the car for the base price with no options if you want. Completely up to the individual.

I'm sick of people who are too stupid to understand the difference.It isn't an automatic as an automatic has a torque converter. You don't go to the line, put a foot on the brake, one on the gas, and then go. It has no torque converter, it doesn't work that way. When the term is used it refers to the technical aspects of the gear box.I guess if you put in manual mode and have to touch the shifter it becomes a manual then suddenly by your definition. It isn't a debate, it's a fact. A dual clutch isn't an automatic get it through your head.

really show me where you get that defenition?

au·to·mat·ic/ˌôtəˈmatik/

Adjective:

(of a device or process) Working by itself with little or no direct human control: "an automatic kettle that switches itself off".

Noun:

An automatic machine or device, in particular.

Synonyms:

automatical - self-acting - mechanical

A DCT FITS EVERY $#@!IN WORD IN THAT DEFINITION!!! If you were to define an auto with a tq converter or a dct the definition would read the same.

the mechanics of the too transmission are obviously different, but the transmission either shifts automatically or not, a tiptronic with paddles is operated EXACTLY the same as a dct with paddles. how the $#@! can you say that a dct is closer to a manual with 3 pedals than it is to a tiptronic with paddles??

Right here. You obviously are having trouble differentiating the literal definition of the word automatic literally and its application as automatic transmission in the automotive world. Pretty simply honestly so I find it hilarious when people can't grasp such a simple concept:

A dual-clutch transmission, (DCT) (sometimes referred to as a twin-clutch gearbox or double-clutch transmission), is a type of semi-automatic or automated manual automotive transmission. It uses two separate clutches[1] for odd and evengear sets. It can fundamentally be described as two separate manual transmissions (with their respective clutches) contained within one housing, and working as one unit.[2][3] They are usually operated in a fully automatic mode, and many also have the ability to allow the driver to manually shift gears,[1] albeit still carried out by the transmission&#39s electro-hydraulics.

How hard is this to grasp?

Besides automatics, there are also other types of automated transmissions such as a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and semi-automatic transmissions, that free the driver from having to shift gears manually, by using the transmission&#39s computer to change gear, if for example the driver were redlining the engine. Despite superficial similarity to other transmissions, automatic transmissions differ significantly in internal operation and driver&#39s feel from semi-automatics and CVTs. An automatic uses a torque converter instead of clutch to manage the connection between the transmission gearing and the engine.